A Short Adventure
by Pierce Ray
Summary: Thought I would take a character briefly mentioned in the movie and show the events that happened from his perspective. Please r&r.
1. Default Chapter

A SHORT ADVENTURE  
  
By Philip Arnold  
  
  
  
June 6, 1944-Omaha Beach-Dog Green Sector  
  
A splash of cold seawater doused Cpl. Arlen Short. He hated saltwater. It was bitter and filthy. He especially hated it when the stuff got in his mouth, he could taste it for days almost. Another one soon came over the side of the LCI, his OD's were completely soaked now. But that was the least of his worries. In another minute or so, he would be hitting the beach, his third so far. But this time was different. He had landed at Sicily and Italy, but there was something keenly different about France. Cpl. Short looked at the others. Some were green and pale, two had just thrown up and he was a little queasy himself from the rough seas. Damn ocean. That is why he joined the Army in the first place, so he could be on dry land. But sometimes, things don't go the way you want them to and he knew that well enough.  
  
In front of him was Captain Miller, Charlie Company's commanding officer and a damn fine one at that. Cpl. Short couldn't think of a better man to lead this company. He was solid, confident, a genius in his own right and yet mysterious. No one knew anything about him, not even Sgt. Horvath. He was just one big enigma waiting to be figured out. Another big splash came over the side of the LCI, but this time it wasn't caused by a wave, but an artillery round. They were getting close now. Real close.  
  
"Clear the ramp! 30 seconds! God be with you!" the Helmsman yelled.  
  
"Port side stick, starboard side stick move fast and clear those murder holes!" barked Captain Miller. More rounds were coming in now.  
  
Sgt. Horvath turned around and gave a last second instruction, "I want plenty of beat between men. You see five men shoot the opportunity. See one man, don't waste your ammo."  
  
"Keep the sand out of your weapons. Keep those actions clear and I'll see you on the beach." said Captain Miller. The last bit was always reassuring. Soon, very soon, Short thought to himself as he felt the landing craft slowing down. He heard it gear down and then the sound of the release mechanism that dropped the ramp. "Clear the murder holes!" Miller shouted one last time.  
  
As the ramp was falling, a torrent of bullets came flying into the LCI. Short stood back, dazed and watched the MG fire tear the men in front to pieces. They didn't stand a chance. In the distance, Arlen could hear a voice, screaming, commanding. Two hands gripped his shoulders firmly and yanked him to his senses.  
  
"Over the side! Over the side!" Captain Miller yelled. Cpl. Short looked at Miller and saw the urgency in his face, trying to get everyone the hell of the doomed boat. Arlen didn't think at all and instead did exactly what his Captain told him to do. He reached over the sides of the landing craft and hurled himself over the top and into the water.  
  
Coldness enveloped him as he sunk straight to the bottom of the English Channel. He opened his eyes but the saltwater caused them to burn. He would have to find his bearings a different way and soon; because he was sure as hell he didn't want to drown. Short kicked his legs and hit something metal; it was the landing craft. He turned his body till he reached the muddy bottom. The Corporal then thrust himself out of the cold, dirty, salty water and caught a breath. But the weight of his gear and rifle sent him right back to the bottom.  
  
He couldn't stay here, Short thought to himself. He needed to get out of the water and onto the beach. The only problem was getting there safely, but of course the only safe on the whole battlefield was…well, nowhere. Arlen then began pushing against the channel floor, occasionally lunging up above the water to get air. While under water he could hear bullets zipping past him and when he was above, he heard them flying by in the air. Artillery rounds still pounded both the beach and the channel, there was no way in hell Short was going to make it out of this alive.  
  
But he went on and soon he was knee-deep in water, his OD's sticking to his body and he began to run the best he could, hardly able to breathe. He made it out of the channel and onto the beach and took off for one of the steel beach obstacles. MG fire continued, never letting up, hitting everywhere around him but fortunately not hitting him but getting very close. Short finally made it to the obstacle and planted himself firmly behind it. After taking to very deep breaths, he reached into his ammo belt and loaded up his M-1 Garand. He slammed the breach closed and began looking around for men from his unit. But everything was still blurry and his still burned from the saltwater. He set his rifle aside and rubbed them, but that didn't help all too much. He then heard a familiar voice amongst all the confusion and disarray. The person was yelling a name all too familiar to the Corporal.  
  
"Captain Miller! Captain Miller!" yelled the soldier, flailing his right arm in the air. It was Sgt. Horvath. Short smiled now comforted by the fact that two of the most important men in the company were still alive.  
  
"Sgt. Horvath, move your men up the beach!" Captain Miller ordered with a controlled yell. It was firm, men around him nodded and obeyed. A voice of reason amongst a sea of utter chaos. Short then saw Sgt. Horvath hunkered down a bit, made a few arm movements, turn and take off up the beach, heading for the seawall. Arlen watched as the Sergeant and the men around him take off up the beach, several being gunned down in the process.  
  
Cpl. Short looked up the beach and saw it littered with bodies of men who had tried the same thing as Sgt. Horvath was doing now. Short knew that the only way to survive any of this was to make it to that seawall. He bunkered behind the beach obstacle, closed his eyes and offered up a quick prayer. Short continued to keep his eyes shut, ignoring the blinding pain of the salt still in his eyes. They began to water up and tears streamed down his face. With his eyes still closed, Arlen reached down and picked up his rifle, took one more living breath and bolted up the beach.  
  
It was the fastest and seemingly the slowest he had ever run in his life. No matter how hard he pumped his legs it seemed like he would not reach the seawall in time. That the Germans would gun him down or a mortar would land right on top of him. It looked like he didn't have a chance in the world. But some how he made it. When he got within 10 feet of the wall, he jumped with all his strength and landed…on an already shot up corpse. Short didn't realize it at first but as soon as he did, he shucked himself off, his wet OD's now covered in blood. Someone would probably mistake him for a medic or something and that would be all he would need right now. Some dying man screaming out to him for help, but unable to do so because he wasn't trained for it; he was a ranger, first and foremost.  
  
Short looked around again for a familiar face and saw both Captain Miller and Sergeant Horvath together. Soon others began showing up. Reiben, Caparzo, Mellish and Jackson. They were all still alive. Of course, Reiben didn't even have his powerful B.A.R. on hand, but he soon began crawling, searching for a new one. He came up to Short and looked over him, seeing the dead Ranger behind him.  
  
"Hey Short." Reiben called.  
  
'Yeah?"  
  
"Toss me that gun, will ya?" Reiben asked in his New York accent. Considering the situation and Reiben's character, he didn't seem all that eager to get the gun. Maybe he was trying to keep it cool or maybe he was actually scared out of his mind, Short didn't know and didn't care. He rolled to his side and reached out with his right arm and grabbed the dead man's gun. The B.A.R. was still firmly clasped in the man's hands, but Short was eventually able to free it from him.  
  
"Sorry buddy," Short said to the fallen soldier, "but someone else needs it now." He turned back around and threw it to Reiben. The New Yorker thanked him quickly and took off back to where the others were. Short began moving himself down that way also. When he made it safely, Arlen noticed several new things going on. The medic Wade was now present amongst the others, helping as many people as he possibly could. A radioman's face had been blown off and his skull caved in. A Demolition expert was also present and the group began setting up the bangalores.  
  
Cpl. Short was still in a daze and he closed his eyes for a short second. They still burned from the saltwater. He pulled out his canteen, opened it and brought the opening to his mouth. When he up-ended it, nothing came out. He opened his eyes and looked curiously at the container. A bullet had ripped through his canteen causing it's contents to spill out. Arlen was shocked and very much pissed off.  
  
He proceeded to swear and curse the Germans for ruining his canteen. He tossed it away and looked around for another. He turned to the dead radio operator and took his. It was still full and as a plus, had no holes. He took a swig, closed it up and put back in his belt. Short then fixated his attention back to the others setting up the demolition. It was set and ready to go, all it needed was the Demo guy to put in the fuse, who was doing so that very second. He pushed the fuse in, paused, holding it tightly in his hand and yelled "Fire in the hole!" as loud as he could.  
  
Short heeded the call and planted his body into the seawall. He heard the warning a couple of more times, the fuse being set off and the explosion. It was so powerful, Short felt himself lift off the ground almost. He shook his head and looked to see Sgt. Horvath crawling up and inspecting the result of the explosion.  
  
"We're in business! Deficit on the other side of the hole!" he yelled and when he started to turn, men began running up and over the wall, machine gun fire pouring down their way. Short was not far behind. Again, he found himself running as fast as he could, trying to get to safety. Arlen wasn't too sure if anyone behind him had tried to make a break for it because as soon as he made down the other side, he could hear bullets kicking at his heels. Those who had made it safely over were now taking cover behind a shelled out concrete structure. One could see the reinforcement bar mangled and twisted every which way. Cpl. Short looked over and saw an already dead soldier. Captain Miller reached out and shoved the body back down. Short watched it roll, lifeless and bloody, then he looked away, back to Captain Miller, waiting for an order.  
  
The situation was beginning to reach an all-new level of frustration. Some twenty men were crammed into a small space trying to get cover from the German machine guns. No one could go anywhere until the machine gun nests were cleared and then things could get done. But the most frustrating part for Arlen was that his eyes still burned. He swore, set his rifle in his lap and began rubbing his eyes furiously trying to get the salt out. His eyes watered up again and tears streamed down his face, causing little relief. Short then looked over and saw Captain Miller, wielding a bayonet with a mirror attached to it. He then handed it to Sgt. Horvath who took a look of his own. The two leaders exchanged observations and Horvath moved back behind Miller.  
  
"Reiben, Mellish," the Captain called out, "let's get into the war. Find some cover and put some fire on that crew." Reiben and Mellish did as they were commanded and Caparzo followed suit. The three then began firing uphill at a nest Short couldn't see.  
  
Captain Miller then began yelling out more names, "Davis, Debanardo, Young, Vault, get ready." The four men lined up to the side of Captain Miller. Vault, who was last in line, seemed a little more jumpy than the rest.  
  
"Covering fire!" Miller bellowed. He leaned out behind the bunker and opened up with his Thompson. Reiben, Mellsih and Caparzo kept up their constant stream of fire. "Go go go!" Captain Miller ordered and the four guys took off around the corner.  
  
Sgt. Horvath moved over and sat beside his Captain, "It's like a goddamn firing squad."  
  
Captain Miller sat the mirror down and swung his Thompson around. "Well it's the only way we can get everybody the hell out of here. Short, Pate, McDonald, Parks…you're next." Arlen felt a huge lump in his throat when the Captain called his name. Then he realized, his eyes no longer burned. That was a plus he thought. 


	2. Chapter 2

A SHORT ADVENTURE  
  
By Philip Arnold  
  
(continued)  
  
"Just hand'em a blind fold Captain!" Horvath said as he moved back to the firing position he was earlier.  
  
"Well if you do they're gonna die. Covering fire!" Miller commanded. The crew kept up the suppressive fire with Miller and Horvath a little extra. "Go go go!" the Captain said pulling back behind the concrete structure.  
  
Short was off before the Captain finished the first 'go.' He was almost down one side of a gully when he heard Parks say, "Move goddamn it!" There was no doubt in Arlen's mind that Parks wanted to get the hell out of this also. Short was trying his best to make it up the cliff alongside the pillbox but trying to climb and trying to watch for a German to jump out and open up on them was not all that easy. He began using his left hand to help climb the cliff in hope that would speed things up. He was about 4 yards from the entry trench when a kraut with a sub-machine gun, looked over his sandbags and fired upon them.  
  
Arlen dove into the trench and army crawled further to let the others in. He turned to see that Pate and McDonald had made it fine, but Parks wasn't has fortunate. Short looked up the trench and saw the first four still battling it out in the same trench. Arlen got to his feet but stayed below the sandbags that topped the trench. He moved down to where Debanardo was exchanging fire with several Germans taking cover in an impact crater.  
  
"Hey!" Debanardo yelled over the gunfire reloading his carbine, "you got any extra clips?"  
  
"Can't say that I do." Short said popping above the trench firing off three quick rounds at the Germans in front of them and dropping below the trench again. He looked around just for some sign of hope. Debanardo popped up and fired several rounds erratically across the battlefield. Then an idea came into his idea.  
  
Short reached down to his pack harness and pulled off a grenade. He looped his left index finger in the pin and took a deep breath before he pulled it from its place. Debanardo looked over and horror washed over his face.  
  
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" he cried. Short looked at him confused but released his finger from the pin. "You realize don't you that if you throw that thing, they're just gonna throw it right back?" he continued.  
  
Arlen honestly did not think of it that way and hurriedly put back the grenade. He looked back down the trench line and saw men streaming in. Short shot his head up and saw soldiers running up the cliff, someone must have taken out the machine gun nest. Arlen smiled, looks he was going to make it off this alive after all.  
  
He turned his attention back to the war going on in front of him and for some reason, Arlen got to his feet and moved down the trench and jumped in a nearby impact crater. He looked over the crest of the crater and saw some 12 to 15 Germans coming his way. Arlen leveled his rifle and fired shot after shot, till his M-1 ran out of ammo. He had shot five rounds and hit one German.  
  
Short felt something nudge against him when he reached down for another bandolier. He looked to his and saw Richard Reiben himself squatting next to him, looking over the crest at the approaching Germans. Short noticed that Reiben hadn't open fire on the Germans and then realized that he was waiting on Arlen.  
  
"Hurry up Corporal!" he said raising his B.A.R.  
  
Arlen slammed the breech shut and raised himself above the crest of the crater. They both fired in unison at the Germans, mowing them down to the ground. Reiben took most of them out himself but said nothing. He reloaded his weapon, jumped out of the crater and went after Captain Miller and the others. Short also reloaded his weapon and stayed back to cover them just in case. He watched Reiben and Sgt. Horvath throw grenades, followed by Caparzo and Mellish checking and shooting several Germans. Arlen then watched them jump down to finish off whoever was still inside.  
  
Short did another quick look see, jumped out of the crater and headed off in a similar direction as the others did. He looked to his right and saw one of the giant gun emplacements that was meant to do battle with the Allied navy but had been for the most part taken out by the Air Force. Arlen ran up and took cover behind the front wall, a few feet from the big guns.  
  
He hesitantly took a peek around the corner and saw a door with a concrete walkway. He turned back and took a deep breath. Before Arlen had built enough courage to turn back around the corner, he heard the door open and shut. His eyes went wide, knowing he would have to act fast. Short spun around the corner and saw the back of a German running away.  
  
Arlen was instantly confused. He was use to the Germans facing the other direction towards him, guns blazing, but this one was running for his life. He truly did not know what he should do, but he was certain he was not going to shoot this Kraut in the back. It would be cowardly and wrong to do something like that.  
  
Instead, Arlen raised his weapon and yelled, "halt" as loud as he could. The German froze and stood completely still. Short then ordered the Kraut to drop his weapon and turn around. At first the Kraut hesitated, probably because he didn't understand what Arlen was saying. Then he started turning slowly towards Short, continuing to hold his weapon, putting Arlen in a hell of a position.  
  
"Drop the goddamn gun!" Arlen yelled at the top of his lungs, taking a large step forward. The command left him breathless and shaking just a little bit. The German was now completely facing him, even though his gun was pointing away from Short, he was still telling the German to put it down. But the Kraut didn't listen and stared into Arlen's eyes, scared. Short repeated himself one more time, slowly, pointing his own weapon, motioning for the German to put down his gun. The German stood there, staring, then blinked.  
  
Gunshots rang out, blood sprayed and both the German and Arlen hit the ground. For the first time, there seemed to be perpetual stillness before reality began to creep back. Arlen raised his head and looked behind him. A lieutenant with a smoking Thompson stood there, with his gun trained on the dead Kraut. He lay there, full of holes and bleeding. Lifeless.  
  
"Get on your feet Corporal. We still have to secure the beach west of this position." the lieutenant commanded. Arlen slowly came to his feet and his senses. He looked at the officer, cold, remorseless, soulless. Short knew that if he was given the chance, he could have had that German drop his weapon and as a prisoner. He knew he would have surrendered.  
  
"He was surrendering sir. He could have been helpful to the invasion." Arlen said, stepping way outside his bounds as a soldier.  
  
"Like hell he was gonna! Besides, not one of these bastards should be allowed to live for what they did here today." the lieutenant said motioning back to the beach with his gun. Arlen hadn't looked back at the beach for quite some time now. He moved passed the lieutenant, walking to where he could see the carnage that happened below. Short could hardly comprehend the madness, which took place as far as the eye could see. He almost broke down to cry, to cry for all those who had not made it on this horrible day.  
  
"Come on Corporal," said the lieutenant in a far away voice, "there's a job waiting to be finished." Short turned and saw the dead German one last time. He also saw his fellow soldiers going through the bodies of the dead, claiming some of the spoils. Arlen looked down a ways and saw Captain Miller and the others, alive and breathing. The lieutenant called for Short again.  
  
Arlen ignored him and headed for his company. He didn't know what the lieutenant's job was, but Short's was to take the beach and he had done just that. Corporal Arlen Short was alive, well and finally dry. 


	3. Chapter 3

June 14, 1944-D-Day+8-Rammel  
  
It had been one week since D-Day and Cpl. Arlen Short was still alive. For many of his buddies, this was not so. Carentan had just been taken by the 101st Airborne and armor began moving inland at a much faster rate. This past week had been the most intense both physically and mentally for Arlen. Right after they had secured the beaches, they were ordered to take out several German gun emplacements the Airborne had missed. They had to go through a giant mine field just to get to them. Charlie Company lost many men that day. He didn't know how much longer he was going to last. No one could be sure of that, but it doesn't keep you from wondering.  
  
The most upsetting event most of all was the loss of their commanding officer, Captain Miller. Four days ago, Charlie Company was folded into Baker and Captain Miller was sent on a mission with his Six. The Six or Miller's Six, of course were the guys who had been with him since North Africa: Sgt. Horvath, Reiben, Jackson, Mellish, Caparzo and Wade. Whenever Miller was given a tough assignment, he passed it down to them and they got it done, no matter the odds that were against them. No one had any clue as to what they had been sent to do, but it didn't take long for rumors to start circling around.  
  
They ranged from that they were sent ahead to go and assassinate Rommel, and then it got to as far as Hitler. But the one that seemed the most farfetched was that they were sent to go find someone, who wasn't an enemy. Some intelligence officer with a big mouth told some of the former Charlie Company members.  
  
"Your Captain and those other guys, they've been sent to find some guy in the 101st named Ryan. It ends up he lost three of his brothers and the Army Chief of Staff has ordered for him to come home. I mean the guy gets to get out of this goddamn mess because he lost his brothers. How unfair is that? I'm my mother's only son and I ain't being sent home." he said.  
  
It didn't make any sense at all. Why would the Army send a patrol of soldiers to get one guy who held no vital information, no secrets, nothing? The United States Army was smarter than that, weren't they? Four days later, when the Rangers arrived in Rammel, they learned the horrible truth. Short could still remember distinctly running up the road and seeing a tall figure standing over a motorcycle. It was Reiben. Short called out to him, but he did not reply, his eyes were fixed on something by the motorcycle.  
  
Arlen called out again, "Hey Reiben, what's going here? Where's Captain." he looked over to the motorcycle and there lay Miller with a serious wound. He was lifeless, his eyes staring into nothingness. Captain Miller was dead. Arlen looked to Reiben who was now just looking around, his eyes never fixing on one thing, until finally they stopped on Sgt. Horvath, who was bleeding from several areas, also dead. He would later find out, Reiben was the only one left of Miller's Six.  
  
Short could not believe what he was seeing, what he was feeling. He was filled with anguish, rage, sorrow and fury all at once. Arlen gritted his literally till he could flecks in his mouth. He looked passed Reiben and saw a soldier standing about a yard and a half away also looking at Captain Miller. He was of average height and build with a sort of boyish face, but the feature Arlen most recognized was the Screaming Eagle emblem on his shoulder. It was Ryan.  
  
"You!" Short screamed, "You're the reason why this man is dead. Remember it when you go home to your mama!" He began to stride out to strike Ryan but a firm hand grabbed him by the jacked and tossed him back. When Short looked to see the man holding him back, he was shocked to see it was Reiben.  
  
"I know how you feel, but I'm under strict orders to get him back to the Major in one piece. Don't worry, I have a feeling he'll never forget this." Reiben said surreally. Arlen looked at Reiben perplexed. He had never heard him talk like that; it was almost eerie. But it was enough to calm Short down and the anger he felt toward Ryan disappeared. Reiben let Short go and told Ryan and some other nerdy looking kid to follow him. Short watched the three walk over the small hill in the road and disappear behind it. It would be the last he would ever see of Reiben.  
  
So the rumors had become reality and with it came more. Rumors that pertained to what Captain Miller's former occupation was. Supposedly, he was a schoolteacher back in the States. The idea was preposterous; there was no way a man like Miller was a schoolteacher, an English teacher on top of that. It didn't sound right, but no one really knew the truth except for an ensemble of men, most of who were dead. A lot of former Charlie Company men walk past Miller's body that day. Some saluted, some just stared, others became teary-eyed and some just walked right by ignoring him all together. Everyone had a different way of dealing with it, Short did a little bit of each.  
  
The rest of the day was spent driving the Germans out of Rammel. It was a long hard fight, but the Rangers could handle it. The Airborne had done their job by capturing and holding the bridge; it was now the Rangers turn.  
  
At thirteen hundred hours, the attack resumed with Baker Company pushing south-eastwardly, along the river. The fleeing Germans had reinforced themselves about six blocks from the river and were waiting for them. It would have been easier with Shermans in support but they were being used fight it out with any remaining German armor. It would have been helpful, but that would just make things to easy. They moved in, drove the Germans out of their hiding places and completely liberated Rammel. Thankfully, casualties were low.  
  
Baker Company had become a completely different company from what it was after D-Day + 3. Almost half of its strength was comprised of former Charlie Company members. This presented a problem to the effect that the company would be divided into two, so Charlie Co. was spread out as best as possible. With hopefully that being taken care of next was the adjustment of Baker's new CO. He was 1st Lt. Christopher Herz, a former platoon leader with Baker who had just been promoted to 1st lieutenant, he was the only officer left in Baker. From Baker men who had been in his platoon, they said he was adequate but confident in his abilities. Charlie men didn't like the sound of this. Their former CO was the best the Army had to offer, many thought he should have been running the battalion or even the division but most of them just wanted him to be their CO.  
  
There were three new platoon leaders, one from Baker, one from Charlie and one Fox. How the Lt. from Fox ended up in this company wasn't for certain but it had been done, Short some how ended up under his command. The platoon was filled with familiar faces and others not so familiar. Pate and McDonald just to name a few. Short was happy for both men had been with him since Sicily and he knew he could count on them. But so far, every member of the platoon was getting along fine, there was apprehensiveness at first, of course, but they were able to overcome it with Lt. Thompson's pep talk.  
  
"I know you guys don't me and hell, I don't know you but I'm not worried about that. We all share several things in common; first we are Americans, second we are Rangers, the best damn soldiers in this army and finally, the faster we get our job done, the faster we get home."  
  
Short and the other men of the platoon listened closely to Thompson's words and took it to heart. He seemed very capable, confident and down to earth. He also listened to the men of his platoon, actually heard what they were saying. In the course of several days, everyone had learned each other's name and the camaraderie that was non-existent at first, was thriving. It would be important to the long road ahead. 


	4. Chapter 4

June 16, 1944-D-Day+10-The Hedgerows  
  
For the past two days the Rangers had lucked out by hitching rides on Shermans of the Second Armor Division. First, they went to Carentan and met up with 101st. Being an aggressive assault force, the 101st Airborne and the 2nd Rangers were ordered to head out in to the French countryside and begin the long task of expelling the Germans from France and out of the war. They had no idea how long it could possibly last, but most were hoping that the war would be over by Christmas. That was one thing a lot of men shared, that and the will to live.  
  
The ride on the Shermans was noisy, hot and then slippery once they rain started. A few times, the men had to dismount mostly when they came under fire. Short wouldn't have mind the ride so much if weren't for the thought that he was a sitting duck on top of that thing. One time a Sherman in front of his was hit by an 88, the men were tossed like trash from the tank. The concussion was so powerful that it knocked Short off the tank he was sitting. He remembered rolling to clear the tank behind him only to stop in front of a severed arm. The thing that almost gave him a heart attack was when he saw fingers flex and relax on their own. That wasn't a good day.  
  
Sleeping was a hard and nerve racking experience for Arlen, especially in the hedgerows. Sometimes the lines of giant bushes were no more than 50 yards apart while others could be miles. He didn't like it when the hedgerows were that close. A common event was one hedgerow would be clear of Germans while the next was loaded with them. OP hedgerows were worse.  
  
It was common for the Germans to attack right at daybreak or a little bit after dawn. They'd open up with machine guns and drop mortars and we word return round for round. Once in a while after thirty minutes of intense small-arms fire, it would stop. The company would wait patiently for another 30 minutes to see what the Germans would do then battalion HQ would order a company to move on the hedgerow with the other two companies in support. Baker got this assignment several times.  
  
Short's eyes were wide with anticipation as were a lot of his comrades. The anxiety could kill a man and slowly but surely, the company would reach the hedgerow, clear it and give the signal for the rest of the battalion to move up. This process seemed to be time consuming but it got the job done and that's all that counted. They would take a quick breather; refill canteens and the whole squad, platoon, company, battalion, regiment and division would be on the move again. If they were lucky, they would run into a town along the ways. It was even luckier if the town had already been liberated. The towns were always named after some saint and Short could never pronounce them. As a solution he began calling them by number. It was "St. town 1" or "St. town 4" or something like that. Even towns that didn't have the "St." in front of them he still called them that. The fellow soldiers didn't understand what the hell he was doing and would go about butchering the name of the town as much as possible.  
  
If the town was liberated, it was full of grateful as ever French. The women would come up and kiss the soldiers on the check or mouth and if they were young, with their tongues. The men would give hearty handshakes and offer them wine or bread, which was always accepted by both officers and enlisted men. "St. town 8" was not such a place.  
  
Around late June, early July, Patton's 3rd Army began sweeping through France at an incredible rate. To keep, a certain crossroads would have to be captured to allow supplies to follow him. Unfortunately, the Germans were still holding the town and they knew how essential those roads were. 2nd Rangers was given the task to clear out the town and capture as many prisoners as they could, Baker Company would be assaulting the town from the East or behind. That meant that town would have to be surrounded and experience had shown that there were often German OP's outside the town waiting for any allied army. They were always armed with MG-42's and they always had plenty of ammo.  
  
The assault on "St. town 8" was scheduled for D-Day+21 at 6:30 AM. The division had one day to encircle the town and clear out any OP's. Strength of the Germans was unknown, which always made things exciting. The division had just been re-supplied so every soldier had plenty of ammo and was instructed to take more.just in case. At 5:00AM, Baker and the newly reestablished Charlie Company began moving around the town along the north side. Charlie Company led the way even though Baker had further to go. They ran into little opposition and a few snipers but that was it. By 9:00 AM after one of the slowest, most cautious advances Short had ever been apart of, Baker Company made it to their position. The rest of the day was spent waiting to see if the Germans would try to pull out or send any more soldiers in. No such luck, they were there to stay. 


	5. Chapter 5

June 27, 1944-D-Day+21-The Assault  
  
The night before the attack on "St. town 8" Short had pulled sentry duty. He decided he take the second half because he knew if he took the first, he wouldn't be able to sleep the rest of the night. There was to be no smoking or talking of any kind. Complete noise and light discipline and Lt. Herz meant it. Lt. Herz wasn't an intimidating man who demanded your respect or he'd get your ass. He was similar to Captain Miller in the sense that he was trying his hardest to keep everyone alive. He was tough and compassionate. Herz would weep over the letters he had to write to the loved ones of the men who had recently died. Not a single man in the company said a word when their CO did this. No one said he was a coward or even dared to utter it, because they knew he wasn't.  
  
At 5:45 AM, the company began moving into position. 1st platoon was to lead the assault down the road with 2nd right behind while 3rd was to move ahead through the woods and hit the town from there. Once doing so, they would link up with Charlie and continue the attack. Cpl. Arlen Short was in 3rd platoon and some what relieved to be so.  
  
The clock ticked down slowly to 6:20 AM and Lt. Thompson was given the order to begin his advance with 3rd platoon. The woods that looked to be thin soon thickened and reminded Arlen much of the hedgerows. They used the town's church steeple to orient them and not move too far from the main assault. There had seemed to be dead branches all over the place and every time a soldier stepped on one, the crack seemed to echo for miles. Around 6:28 AM, the platoon had reached the edge of the woods with no encountering of the enemy. There they waited patiently for the day to truly begin and looked for any obstacles that had to be cleared.  
  
A small white picket fence with a garden lined the back of a house. The windows of the house were closed and the shades drawn, a very good thing. There were alleys on both sides and if one looked down them, they could see the cobblestone street. This short-lived peace was the best thing Short had experienced in a while. It was refreshing in a strange way. It was a shame that it didn't last much longer.  
  
From both the left and the right of the platoon, gunshots began ringing out. This was the signal Lt. Thompson was waiting for and gave the order to move. The platoon made the mad dash from the woods to the houses in a matter of moments. They trampled the garden but that was to be considered collateral damage. Thompson ordered two groups of two to clear out the houses they were against while the rest of the platoon moved up to the street.  
  
Lt. Thompson led a group down the left side while Sgt. Palkovich and a squad went down the right in a single file line. Arlen followed the sergeant and his buddy Pate accompanied him. The gunfire began growing louder and louder as the battle got closer and closer. Sgt. Palkovich stopped at the corner of the alley and slowly looked around the corner. At a building across the street and to the right of another alley, a window was open and the barrel of a MG-42 was sticking out, spraying lead down the road.  
  
"Rifle grenade!" Sgt. Palkovich ordered in horse voice and Pvt. Benson moved up behind the sergeant. He began setting up the system on the top of his M-1 and when he was finished, Sgt. Palkovich moved aside and instructed Benson on where to shoot.  
  
"Building on the right, second floor, first window on the left. You shouldn't miss him." Sgt. Palkovich continued pointing his hand at the machine gun. Benson looked around the corner and saw the machine gun continuing his constant destructive action. Benson nodded his head, moved to the left, leveled his rifle and fired. He couldn't have shot any straighter. The grenade sailed through the air, took out the machine gun and even tossed a German onto the street. Sgt. Palkovich raised his carbine and put a round through the man's helmet, possibly making the Kraut more dead than he already was.  
  
"Let's go!" he yelled and the men began flowing into the street. As they made their way up and across the street, opposing fire began opening up from further down the road. Short slid, tearing up his knees, behind a stoop on the other side of the road. He ignored the pain, leaned out from behind the steps and shot down the street at a bunker down the road. He emptied the weapon and reloaded it. Short then slowly looked out again, his helmet somewhat lopsided and he shook his head to adjust it. At the curved part of the street on the left side, he could sort of make out an object of some kind, just peeking out barely.  
  
An explosion ripped into a building across the street sending debris of all kinds into the air. Arlen threw himself to the ground, shielding his face from the fragments of building coming down. He now knew what the object was and when he looked again, he saw it becoming longer and heading towards him.  
  
"Panzer! Panzer!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. He turned to see the gray expressions of his fellow soldiers and then to Lt. Thompson. Short didn't remember anyone in the platoon possessing a bazooka even though one person was required to have one and another to carry the ammo. Short heard gunshots from behind as someone began shooting at the tank in hopes of stopping it. There was very little chance of stopping a German tank with a round from a bazooka due to its armor, but you might have a little success if you went for the tracks.  
  
Arlen turned back to the Panzer only to its turret rotating in his direction. "Oh shit!" he yelled quickly getting to his feet running for the corner of the building. As he turned to make his break down the alley heard the tank discharge a round.  
  
The shockwave threw Short from his feet and building began to collapse behind him. He covered his head and face to protect him from bricks, glass and wood landing all around him. He slowly got to his feet when he felt a hand clasped under his left arm, pulling him up. Short looked to see whom it was and was happy to see it was Pate.  
  
"Come on," he yelled pulling him to follow, "we got to get back with the rest of the platoon."  
  
"No, we gotta stop that tank first!"  
  
"Are you crazy? We've got nothing to do that with in the first place and it's suicide to even try." Pate exclaimed.  
  
Short ignored what Pate said, turned and yelled over his shoulder, "Follow me!" He ran over to a window that was blown out and climbed in. Short didn't look back, but he could hear Pate right behind him. Arlen made way for a flight of stairs in the house and began bounding up them.  
  
He went to a window and cautiously looked out. The Panzer was lumbering slowly down the street and he could see the tops of the German's helmets. Short turned and gave the hand signals to Pate ordering to drop grenades in the back of the tank. Pate nodded and pulled one off his holster, pulled the pin and gripped the device tightly.  
  
The tank was getting closer and closer, Short swallowed hard waiting for an eternity. When the Panzer had reached the point they had been waiting on, Short gave the command and he and Pate dropped their grenades in the back of the Panzer, ducking back behind the window. Arlen heard several screams before the explosion and saw a flame shoot straight up and passed their window. Short and Pate looked out the window to inspect their work will bullets slammed all around them.  
  
Both men jumped back, Pate yelped grabbing his arm. The rifle fire increased from both directions. Pate was cursing the Germans and Short and now Short was helping Pate to his feet. They ran down the stairs and out the same window they came in. Arlen looked to his left and could see the barrel of the tank still pointing down the street.  
  
"Let's go to the right, avoid the crossfire!" said Arlen looking into Pate's eyes. He nodded and squinted in pain, grinding his teeth together. They headed towards the end of the alley, which was 5 paces away from the window. Arlen slowly looked to the right, his rifle ready. He didn't see anyone coming that way and motioned for Pate to follow. The two ran down the alley for two blocks, took a left and met up with the rest of the platoon.  
  
Lt. Thompson turned to see the two, "Short, Pate where the hell have you been?"  
  
"Doing the usual, stopping enemy tanks and coming under heavy enemy fire. That sort of thing." Short said nonchalantly.  
  
Thompson gave a quick smirk and saw that Pate was wounded. He told him that the aid station was across the street and to go if he thought he could make it. Pate didn't give it a second thought and took off. He made it safely.  
  
"What's the situation lieutenant?" Short asked getting close to Thompson to make it easier to converse.  
  
"Looks like we caught them right when they were deciding to make a break for it. Could have been worse. If we had started this any later they'd have us out in the open and for the picking. I've contacted Charlie Company to let them know we will be a bit late." the lieutenant explained.  
  
"Does Lt. Herz know of our position?"  
  
"Haven't been able to raise him so I've got no idea how they're doing. Did you see anyone down that alley you came from?" Thompson asked. Arlen shook his head and he could see the lieutenant thinking something probably crazier than what Pate and he had done, "Sgt. Palkovich!"  
  
Palkovich came running up and Arlen made room for him, "Sergeant, take second squad and move up the alley to see if you can get behind the Krauts. Short, your point." ordered the lieutenant. Arlen's heart sank he hated taking the point.  
  
"Second squad on me!" Palkovich yelled and seven men came running up and took a knee around him. He then gave a quick overview of what they would be doing and then turned to Short to take the lead. Arlen turned around and began making his way down the alley with sixteen feet clomping behind him. They turned the corner and headed back where Short and Pate had just come from. 


	6. Chapter 6

June 27, 1944-D-Day+21-The Assault (continued)  
  
The squad of nine men soon reached the corner where the German tank had been stopped. This was the point of no return. Here their advance slowed and weapons raised to kill any enemy that happened to come across them. They made themselves small by duck walking and spread out, one man on each side of the alley. At every corner, Arlen would stop and look around the corner, clear. He would wave them on they would hurriedly run to take cover behind the next building. They repeated this process for three blocks till they were starting to run out of houses to hide behind.  
  
The group of soldiers came to a building that had a door at the back, Sgt. Palkovich looked to each man and they knew what he was thinking. He made several hand signals and the men took up their positions. A private was then ordered to kick open the door, Arlen held his breathe, rifle raised poised to shoot anyone on the other side. The private readied himself, exhaled and kicked the door as hard as he could. It swung open and slammed into the wall. He went in, Short was behind him, followed by Palkovich and the rest of the team. Palkovich ordered the squad upstairs to shoot down on their enemy. Being upstairs was becoming a common occurrence for Arlen.  
  
They jogged up the flight of stairs and went for the windows. Below them was a mass of Germans firing down the street. One Kraut looked up and saw the Americans looking down on them with weapons trained. "Alli!" he screamed but he was soon gunned down.  
  
It was a turkey shoot. The Germans were completely unprepared for this and were slaughtered. Short went through three clips shooting at them. Someone threw a grenade, which was a waste. But the Germans retaliated faster then the squad was expecting and a man took a bullet to the chest. They were now taking cover after being exposed for so long; it was surprise that there was only one down so far.  
  
The German response was malicious. A Panzerfaust was launched and slammed into the side of the building. Arlen was thrown back, his ears ringing. He looked to his right and saw the eyes of dead man staring back at him. "Williams is down!" he yelled getting back to his position, shooting down at the Germans. A potatomasher landed next to Sgt. Palkovich who picked it up and threw it back onto the street.  
  
"Keep them from getting inside! Short! Debanardo! Guard the stairwell!" Palkovich ordered. Arlen and Debanardo rushed for the stairs and as they looked down they made out the shadow of a German slowly making his way up. Debanardo grabbed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and threw it hard enough to where it bounced off the wall and down the stairs. The grenade exploded, killing the German and hopefully several others.  
  
Both me gripped their rifles tightly waiting for any of them to try and make their way upstairs. Another shell from a Panzerfaust hit the side of the building and the constant gunfire continued. They could be here for a while or not long at all Short thought to himself. He looked to see Palkovich continuing on, firing his carbine while several others lie in pain or still. Soon he firing slowed up, he looked down the street and ordered the remainder to hold their fire. The platoon was making its way up the street. Out of the nine men who were ordered to get behind the Germans, four remained standing. Two were seriously wounded and the other three were dead.  
  
The squad headed down the stairs, carrying the wounded soldiers with them. Short got a glimpse of a fleeing German and chose to ignore it. Right now there were more serious things to attend to. They came out of the building and laid the wounded men in the street. Lt. Thompson came up, congratulated them on their efforts and headed up the street. The four faced each other and all of them let a sigh of relief in unison. A medic came and tended to the wounded. They then turned and jogged to catch up with the rest of the platoon. They were behind schedule and would have to do some catching up. Arlen looked at his watch; it was 7:37 AM. Everything that had transpired so far had done so in practically an hour. He felt as if he was 10 years older and at this rate, he would be a senior citizen before the war was even over.  
  
The platoon met up with Charlie Company and found that they had been hit harder than Short's group. It seems that the escape attempt to the East was merely a diversion and that a whole SS German battalion hit Charlie in force with artillery support. They broke through and were gone but not after taking some serious casualties themselves. Charlie Company's new CO sat on a pile of rubble in disbelief about what had happened. His helmet and weapon were missing; all he had was a .45 with 3 rounds left. He had taken a bit of shrapnel to the face and was slightly bleeding. All around him lay dead American and German soldiers.  
  
When he came to his senses, Lt. Thompson talked to him to obtain any more information. The Captain spoke in four word sentences, "They hit us hard," and "We weren't expecting it" and finally "they went that way." Sgt. Palkovich came back with a peppered helmet with a Captains insignia on it and a sub-machine gun. The Captain took them graciously and thanked Palkovich. He put on his helmet and slung the weapon on his shoulder. When he put them, the Captain completely changed and turned back to his normal state. He suggested that they head for the rendezvous point so that Lt. Thompson could report back with Baker. Lt. Thompson agreed and the Captain called for everyone to move out. They soon would begin the long march to the town's square. Short could see on the Captain's face that he had a lot of explaining to do when he met up with Battalion HQ.  
  
Short walked over to where Debanardo and McDonald were standing, "Can you believe what they have done with our company."  
  
"Yeah we were just talking about that." McDonald said spitting on the ground.  
  
"Well, you can't blame them, they tried," Debanardo said lighting a cigarette, "Now if it was like it was with Captain Miller; we would have stopped those Krauts cold." The three nodded in agreement and got the order to fall in. All three took a glance at the remaining Charlie Company boys. Before today, they were all green and now they had had their baptism of fire. They looked as if they could have cared less for it. The Rangers fell in line and headed in towards the town. It was 8:06 AM on June 27, 1944 and Short got the sure distinction that the war was far from over. 


End file.
